In a forage harvester, the discharge path for the processed crop commonly comprises a discharge tube and a curved spout connected to the tube. The spout, which can usually be rotated relative to the discharge tube about a vertical axis, projects laterally from one side of the harvester to discharge the processed crop into a container mounted on a vehicle driven alongside the harvester.
Because of the large mass flow rate of the processed crop through the spout, the interior surfaces of the spout are prone to wear. To overcome this problem, it has been proposed previously to provide wear plates to line the parts of the spout that are subjected to the most wear. However, such wear plates were introduced into the spout in the past through its open end or mouth, which made them difficult to assemble and replace.
When harvesting certain types of crop, the speed of the material through the spout can be low, giving rise to a tendency for the spout to become blocked. This is the case, for example, when harvesting low density material such as dried grass. It is therefore desirable to provide the spout with a removable cover, or inspection hatch, especially at the elbow where the spout joins the discharge tube. For this purpose, U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,892 teaches the use of a removable cover that doubles as a replaceable wear plate.